LEED Gold Recertification

Monday, July 23, 2018

National Wallcovering Building in NLR Earns Distinction in Green Efficiency

The National Wallcovering/Colour & Design facility in North Little Rock has claimed a significant conservation efficiency distinction after consultations with Entegrity.

The structure at 10020 Maumelle Boulevard was recently awarded LEED Gold recertification by the U.S. Green Building Council, which supports cost-efficient and energy-saving "green" buildings. The 76,250-SF facility is the first existing Arkansas building to gain renewed Gold certification through what USGBC calls its Arc performance platform.

The relatively new Arc platform measures building performance in five key areas: efficiency in energy, water, waste, transportation and "human experience." The North Little Rock building, owned by Bix Enterprises and housing National Wallcovering's own headquarters and warehouse as well as the office and warehouse space of a tenant, Emser Tile, scored exceptional well in the human experience category. That measure gauges occupant satisfaction and indoor air quality.

Shelly Bixler, Chief Operating Officer of National Wallcovering, said in a news release that her companies are committed to sustainability. "We are very excited to be the first project in the state of Arkansas to use Arc to achieve the LEED Gold certification renewal." The new platform, she said, "makes it easier to see our performance results."

The certification process for the building, which first achieved LEED Gold certification in 2011, tracked energy and water utility data, tested indoor air quality and surveyed occupants on their comfort and transportation methods.

Entegrity, a leading Little Rock efficiency contractor and retrofitter, provided LEED consulting services for the current project and for the original Gold certification seven years ago.

National Wallcovering, founded in Little Rock by Larry Bixler in 1981, describes itself as one of the largest commercial interior product distributors in North America, with operations in 30 states.